They need financial help to bring doctors to the region.The Doctor Recruitment and Retention Committee recently sent out a letter to all the local municipalities asking for financial support. Humboldt City Council discussed the letter from the committee during a regular council meeting on April 9. The committee was asked for $1 per person from each municipality, which would make Humboldt's contribution about $5,700 per year. The money will go towards housing and transportation incentives for doctors coming to the community, explained Humboldt Mayor Malcolm Eaton. "We will ask corporations and individuals for support as well," said Eaton, who also sits on the committee. "Without funds, we can't do much. We can tour and answer questions, but not much else." He explained so far they have been doing good work, touring doctors in the community and answering questions they may have, but they would like to be able to do more. They would like to provide transitional housing and transportation for three to six months, to help the doctors transition into the community and have time to find permanent housing and transportation. The councillors were interested in supporting the committee, but had a few concerns. One of their concerns was causing a bidding war between Humboldt and other communities if they offer these incentives. "Our committee is not into monetary incentives," explained Eaton. "Signing bonuses and the like are up to the health region... We just want to provide housing and transportation to make the transition easier." Eaton explained if doctors are moving to the community from South Africa, they do not have access to many Humboldt connections. "Their main concern is where they are going to live," said Eaton. "If we can answer them readily, they will be more likely to come to our community."He added the housing incentive might also help local graduates, who can sometimes have up to $100,000 in student loans when they graduate. The housing is not permanent. After the initial three to six months, the thought was the doctors will either have found a permanent place to live or will start paying rent themselves. The committee also does not want to buy a house for the doctors to live in. They are hoping for community partners willing to rent to the committee for doctors. "We do have a developer interested in helping," said Eaton. "There are also a couple of people who own homes and would be willing to work with us." Eaton said they are already dealing with a bidding war, since other communities already offer these transitional incentives to doctors, which could be the reason some doctors chose not to come to Humboldt. "Watrous supplies housing and a vehicle allowance," said Eaton. "That is one of the factors (doctors have) chose Watrous over Humboldt." Another concern raised by Coun. Phil Smith was where the money will go once it is collected. Right now, the committee is not a formally recognized organization, which means they do not have a bank account. Eaton explained the Chamber of Commerce would deal with the money for the committee until they form a non-profit organization with a board of directors. Steve Brown, director of finance, said it shouldn't be hard to find $5,700 in the budget to put toward doctor recruitment.In the end, council decided to support the committee in principle, following the receipt of more information.
